Tricle hay device idea...thoughts please

SaharaS

SaharaS

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Hello...just been pondering solutions for stable feeding hay/haylage to keep the ingoing flow for as long as possible overnight for optimum utilisation without safety issues & health issues of bolting it or standing hungry because they aren't prone to eating 'Madonna style' (69 chews per mouthful!)-one of mine barely lets his hay touch the sides and can empty two large KM Elite small hole haylage nets in under 2 hours..weight wise this would be 5% of his bodyweight and costing me a fortune and he STILL will then stand thru the night waiting for feed..my others can merrily chomp on one net only & have half this amount left at midnight and still have some left(tho not much) by morning..all of them are 15.2,15.3,16.2 & 17h TBs..its the 17hh that is being the nuicance.

I've tried double netting, but he will eat a large hole thru the nets then rip out the contents so this is proving ridiculously unnecessary expense plus the added dangling danger as his new holes are very much hoof sized.
He has been prone to choke in the past from being floor fed with hay..simply from just bolting it.

I currently feed nicely moist dry wrapped hay which they are all doing well on and getting on great with it with no waste...so..having looked at haybars-not keen as he'll still bolt it..I then found a stubs hay/feed munching station manger. I refuse to pay £120-£189 ish for the privelage which I think he will still rip his hay out of in no time...

.....so wondered...*lightbulb moment*:D

......If I take the same principle of a corner manger and made a frame out sturdy timber, using my corner stubbs manger buckets as a 'frame' they are already corner mounted and so stop the worry of the self harmer managing to do something stupid-hopefully! I could make the slanted bottom section easily enough to let the remnants fall naturally to the mesh end...would I be safe to make the 'net' part for accessing hay out of some kind of thick hi tensile metal mesh? it would have to be quite small holed and I would probably reinforce the centre with a vertical wooden support for safety & strength too...I was thinking the small square mesh used for windows where the holes are about an inch or so -so as near to the holes you would have if double netting a small hole haylage net..the mesh i'm thinking would not be flimsey like rabbit net but nearer stock fence thickness..like the hay wrack mesh (see www.stablesuppliesdirect.co.uk/hay-rack-field-or-portable-s14h-10685-p.asp ) but allowing for large quantities and safe upright storage.
Yes teeth catching is always a problem,but having seen horses get hooves caught in traditional mangers, I'm pretty sure they are capable of anything so I will chose the mesh wisely....so finally my question....simply ....your thoughts please!:eek:

white choc croissants with raspberry jam ...now be nice!:D
 
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The Search facility doesn't seem to be working, but there's a big thread about this somewhere.
Yes, you could make slow hay feeders, here's my version:
The tubs are giant plant pots used for trees. I've now got some even bigger ones and have made bigger feeders, improving the knot in the bungee cord to stop it coming undone. The net over the top is made of blue plumbing pipe, reinforced at the join with copper pipe inside, and cut up hay nets. I've got old leadrope clips on the end of some of the bungees that come out of the tubs, so that I can clip them to the looped twine outside. Makes it easy to flip the lid open for filling.
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Good idea, but inch sized holes would prevent the horse from getting any hay at all as the mesh is rigid. You would probably need two inch holes. Much easier though is to buy a trickle net. They are £30 each but well worth the money. I use them for three horses, one of which always makes holes in normal small holed nets by ripping them. His trickle net is still very much intact after three month's use. They are made of much thicker and stronger material than all other nets I have seen.
 
OOh...that looks marvellously simple! thank you! I do actually have some large off road tyres from my 4x4 that are about the same sized hole as those buckets, I could stack three & fill those with a simple net top...he's a sod & I swear he has thumbs on his hooves as well as demon scissor hands teeth so this would be a perfect use for the haynets he has butchered ...and the tyres would be less movable and wouldn't break if kicked....so much prefer the low level feeding of your idea & the stubbs munch station as his neck muscles change from nets -not to mention recently breaking my nose but thats another thread all together! Thank you very much! Plumbing centre her I come!

btw how much longer do you think this method keeps him feeding compared to nets?
 
Wagtail said:
Good idea, but inch sized holes would prevent the horse from getting any hay at all as the mesh is rigid. You would probably need two inch holes. Much easier though is to buy a trickle net. They are £30 each but well worth the money. I use them for three horses, one of which always makes holes in normal small holed nets by ripping them. His trickle net is still very much intact after three month's use. They are made of much thicker and stronger material than all other nets I have seen.
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thank you re hole size...I loved the idea of tricle nets, but he killed his within 48 hours. he literally will stand and gnaw thru till he makes a big hole.. lets just say the swine managed to dive thru the window mesh because my youngster dared to breath in his own stable and his window has a concord nose shaped redesigned bit to it...poor youngster is the friendliest soul & very innoffensive but was too scared to come out of the corner for about a week so have borded up the window with allumimium sheeting now..with a mirror film stuck on each side..little one blows kisses at his..evil monster other side attacks his own reflection..yet cover it and he gets upset & calls for it!He's a big grump since his friend died 2 years ago suddenly & he's holding everyone/thing else responsible..:( I'm beginning to wonder if a new home as an only child would suit him better sad tho i am to admit as he's a big lad to be having grief strops but revels in sole one to one...not ever getting rid of the others in a million years so running out of options..perhaps he needs a long sit on a couch with a therapist!:D
 
I posted the detail of how I made the feeders here. http://explorehorse.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=1&action=display&thread=2021

Yes, the bungees allow the lid to go right to the bottom of the tub. I'm not sure tyres would work because I think the lid would get caught up. The tubs I used were from landscape gardeners. They were actually paying for them to be taken away! I would change the way I knot the bungee cord in future, and am planning to modify it in the feeders I have made. I would double it up, so that the knot can be one where you just lay the two ends together and knot them over together - if that makes sense. I did some like that and they don't come undone at all. The clip is slid on before I tie the knot, then once it's all hooked up in the bottom of the feeder, I just knot the cord off behind the clip to keep it in place. Maybe also put more than 4 cords - my pony pushes her nose down in between the cords and drags hay out!

They definitely slowed down feeding, and save waste. I used about 230 small bales the previous winter, 200 last winter.
 
Tinypony said:
I posted the detail of how I made the feeders here. http://explorehorse.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=1&action=display&thread=2021

Yes, the bungees allow the lid to go right to the bottom of the tub. I'm not sure tyres would work because I think the lid would get caught up. The tubs I used were from landscape gardeners. They were actually paying for them to be taken away! I would change the way I knot the bungee cord in future, and am planning to modify it in the feeders I have made. I would double it up, so that the knot can be one where you just lay the two ends together and knot them over together - if that makes sense. I did some like that and they don't come undone at all. The clip is slid on before I tie the knot, then once it's all hooked up in the bottom of the feeder, I just knot the cord off behind the clip to keep it in place. Maybe also put more than 4 cords - my pony pushes her nose down in between the cords and drags hay out!

They definitely slowed down feeding, and save waste. I used about 230 small bales the previous winter, 200 last winter.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this..have pm'd you...or will in a mo!xx
 
I've been trolling YouTube for slow hay feeders. There are some very clever, homemade devices which have caught my fancy.

I have ordered, and just received, 2 gridwall panels. They are 2 feet x 4 feet with 3 inch openings. They are made of heavy chromed metal. Other lengths are available, but I chose the 4' one because I felt the larger ones would be too heavy to lift. My handyman has been working on our first one today. If you go to YouTube and search for slow hay feeders, you will see a selection of feeders. Some are commercial (and scandalously expensive), but most are bespoke. Almost all of the videos are from the US. I didn't realise that gridwall was something obtainable in the UK. Was I ever wrong! The purpose of the gridwall is to place it over the hay, which is in a stable, strong container, and to prevent the horses (or, in my case, donkeys) from bolting down their hay or straw. The gridwall has to be contained in the hay dispenser in such a way as to slowly sink down over the hay as it is eaten. But it also has to be able to be lifted in order to add more hay. When mine is finished, I will post photos.
 
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